Burt Reynolds, the charismatic actor who epitomized a particular strain of rugged all-American masculinity—and became a huge star in the late 1970s as a result—has died. The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news, declines to mention a cause of death. He was 82.
Vanessa Marquez, an actress best known for her recurring role as Nurse Wendy Goldman on the first three seasons of ER, has died. Marquez was shot and killed by South Pasadena police officers yesterday, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She was 49.
DJ Ready Red (née Collins Adams Leysath)—the pioneering DJ and producer who worked with Houston rap outfit Geto Boys from 1988 to 1991—has died of an apparent heart attack. The news was announced via an Instagram video from Geto Boys’ Willie Dennis (otherwise known as Willie D) and later confirmed by Pitchfork.…
Robin Leach, the British TV host whose distinctive voice and wealth-worshipping catchphrase “champagne wishes and caviar dreams” made him the subject of innumerable parodies during his ‘80s heyday, has died. Leach had been hospitalized since November 21, when he suffered a stroke while vacationing in Cabo San Lucas.…
Aretha Franklin, the iconic R&B singer and songwriter known for decades simply as “the Queen of Soul,” has died. Franklin was admitted into hospice care on August 13, amid reports that she was “seriously ill” with pancreatic cancer. She retired from touring in February 2017, and was forced to cancel a pair of…
Elmarie Wendel, a veteran character actress best known for her role as Mrs. Dubcek, landlady to 3rd Rock From The Sun’s Solomon family, has died. Wendel’s daughter confirmed the news in an Instagram post on Saturday evening, calling her mother “a great mom and a badass dame.” Wendel was 89.
Tab Hunter, 1950s movie idol, died Sunday night in Santa Barbara, California, from a blood clot that caused a heart attack, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Allan Glaser, Hunter’s romantic partner of more than three decades, told THR that his death was “unexpected and sudden.” He was just three days shy of his…
Robby Müller, the Dutch cinematographer who shot such modern classics as Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas (1984), Lars Von Trier’s Dancer In The Dark (1996), and a number of films by indie stalwart Jim Jarmusch, has died. As The Guardian reports, Müller died at home in Amsterdam after a long illness. He was 78.
The French documentarian and writer Claude Lanzmann, whose 1985 magnum opus Shoah stands as the medium’s definitive meditation on the Holocaust, has died. One of the greatest documentaries ever made, the nine-and-1/2-hour film took more than a decade to complete; it was the pièce de résistance of a long career. A…
Richard Swift, a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who released music as a solo artist along with his work as a member of indie-rock powerhouses The Shins, The Black Keys, and The Arcs, has died. Swift was suffering from an undisclosed “life-threatening condition,” and had been in the hospital since last…
Koko, the western lowland gorilla who changed humanity’s understanding of animal communication with her mastery of American Sign Language, has died. In a statement, the research center where Koko lived for most of her life says, “The Gorilla Foundation is sad to announce the passing of our beloved Koko. Her impact has…
The endangered art of the hand-drawn movie poster lost one of its leading practitioners yesterday, as Bill Gold, creator of iconic movie posters for such films as Casablanca (1942), Dial M For Murder (1954), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Dirty Harry (1971), The Exorcist (1973), The Sting (1973), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and…
Tom Wolfe, a chronicler of the ‘60s counterculture who helped change the face of nonfiction writing as a leader in the New Journalism movement before turning to writing novels with the bestselling The Bonfire Of The Vanities, has died. As astute observer of social trends in his prime, Wolfe is credited with…
Margot Kidder, the actress best known for her role as Lois Lane opposite Christopher Reeve in the Superman films produced in the 1970s and ‘80s, has died. Kidder died at home in Montana yesterday of unknown causes, according to TMZ, which broke the news. She was 69.
Two days after his family and bandmates reported him missing and expressed concern for his “fragile state,” Scottish police confirm that Scott Hutchison, frontman for the indie-rock group Frightened Rabbit, has died, various outlets are reporting. A body was reportedly found yesterday at 8:30 p.m. local time in Port…
Anne V. Coates, the legendary British film editor who won an Oscar for her work on Lawrence Of Arabia (1962), was nominated for her work on four more films, and received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship in 2007, has died, according to multiple news outlets. She was 92.
Ermanno Olmi, the post-neorealist Italian director best known for The Tree Of Wooden Clogs, Il Posto, and I Fidanzati, has died. Equally drawn to social and spiritual concerns, Olmi remained an outsider among European art filmmakers of the ‘60s generation because of his strong Catholic faith and his rural and…
Pamela Gidley, an actress probably best known for her role as the elusive Teresa Banks in David Lynch’s prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, has died, the Los Angeles Times reports. The cause of Gidley’s death was not listed in her obituary, which announced that she “died peacefully in her home, on Monday,…
Bruno Sammartino, one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling history, has died. No specific cause of death has been provided, but according to CBS’ Pittsburgh affiliate, Sammartino had been battling “health issues” for the last two months and passed away with his wife and two sons by his side. He was 82.
